A recent Gallup poll brought a lot of attention to whether residents in Connecticut are happy where they live. About half said they would move to a different state if given the chance, ranking Connecticut second only to Illinois among states with people feeling a bit disenchanted.
Residents in the state were much less likely to have plans to relocate, though. Only 16 percent of people in Connecticut said they were planning to leave within a year.
"Connecticut is a beautiful place, filled with amazing people and history."
Dawn McNary
Dawn McNary said she relocated back to Connecticut after leaving 20-some years ago. “Connecticut is struggling, that is evident,” she wrote in a comment on our post about the Gallup poll. “But with that said, it has a long history of strength. …Connecticut is a beautiful place, filled with amazing people and history, and the location between Boston and NYC, as well as Vermont and Maine for weekend getaways, cannot be beat. There is so much to offer, if we could only get our footing back.”
"There is quite a robust community if you can spend the time to cultivate it."
Jason Zwang
Jason Zwang said he moved from Connecticut to Atlanta, Georgia a few months ago. “As someone who tried to ‘dig in’ to downtown Hartford,” he wrote in a comment, “I must say, there is quite a robust community if you can spend the time to cultivate it. I had lived in the suburbs (Litchfield County) for about eleven years prior to Hartford. Despite not having much to do, I did have freedom to create as I pleased. The top reasons I’m happy I moved are weather, opportunity to make change/get involved, and the gun laws. Overall I’m happy here at my age (28), but I plan to move back up north, when I have kids, for the schools, opportunities to see risk/high stakes, diversity, and sense of need to excel. Being raised in Connecticut is like taking practice swings with a donut on your bat. When you move away, you really do have an edge.”
We want to hear your story. Are you among the 16 percent planning to leave? Are you among the 49 percent who would leave the state, given the chance?
Send us your answers to the questions below, comment on this post, tweet us your thoughts @wnpr, or call our Voicemail Project at (860) 580-9677.
Pictures are welcome. On Twitter or Instagram, use the hashtag #whyIstay.
- How do you happen to live Connecticut?
- Are you planning to move out of the state in the next 12 months?
- If not, what keeps you in Connecticut?
- If you had an opportunity to move away, would you? Why or why not?
